Joe Biden regrets delay in military aid to Ukraine
During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on June 7, President Joe Biden apologized for the delay in approving a military aid package that was blocked by Republican opposition in Congress earlier this year, CNN reports.
"I apologize for the weeks of uncertainty about funding because we had trouble passing the bill due to some very conservative members holding it up, but we got it done," President Biden said.
Biden also stressed that the United States would continue to support Ukraine.
"You haven't bowed down, you haven't yielded at all. You continue to fight in a way that is just remarkable — and we’re not going to walk away from you," he added.
President Biden announced a new $225 million aid package for Ukraine during talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris.
U.S. aid for Ukraine
After months of delay, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill providing over $60 billion in support for Ukraine on April 20. The U.S. Senate passed the bill on April 24, and President Joe Biden signed it the same day, stating that deliveries would begin "immediately, within hours." The aid package includes ammunition for air defense systems, artillery, missile systems, and armored vehicles. The White House stated the package should last until the end of 2024.
The United States had secretly sent over 100 long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine in March, according to The New York Times. On April 26, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced that Washington would allocate $6 billion to purchase American military aid for Ukraine.
On May 10, Biden approved a new $400 million military aid package for Ukraine that includes ammunition for Patriot air defense systems, NASAMS, and more. On May 15, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a new $2 billion aid package for Ukraine at a joint press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. Amid the Russian offensive in Kharkiv Oblast, the United States announced another $275 million package of military aid to Ukraine on May 24.
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